Non-genetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Acquired Traits in Drosophila

Abstract

It is increasingly recognized that acquired traits may be transgenerationally transmitted through non-DNA sequence-based elements, with epigenetics as perhaps the most important mechanism. Here we review examples of non-genetic transgenerational inheritance in Drosophila, highlighting transgenerational programming of metabolic status and longevity, one particular histone modification as an evolutionarily conserved underlying mechanism, and important implications of such studies in understanding health and diseases.

Transgenerational inheritance of learned preferences for novel host plant odors inBicyclus anynanabutterflies

“…Numerous studies during the last 20 years, however, have been reviving and lending support to the inheritance of learned and acquired traits and couching these ideas in the modern field of epigenetic inheritance and also in the less well‐studied field of genetic assimilation or genetic accommodation (West‐Eberhard ; Jablonka and Lamb ; Pigliucci et al. ; Jablonka and Raz ; Xia and de Belle ). For instance, mice exposed to a neutral fruity odor while receiving a mild electric shock adopt a startle behavior later in life while only experiencing the odor, and pass on that startle behavior to their children and grandchildren upon sensing the odor without the shock (Dias and Ressler ).…”